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Spring Garden Prep: Complete Fertilizer & Planting Guide
Complete spring garden prep checklist: soil testing, bed prep, lawn feeding, tree care, and planting schedules with fertilizer tips.
What Is It ?
Spring is the most exciting — and most critical — time in the garden. The decisions you make between March and May set the trajectory for your entire growing season. Soil that was resting under snow all winter needs to be tested, amended, and prepared before the first seeds go in. Lawns recovering from winter stress need the right nutrients at the right time to green up thick and choke out weeds. Perennials, fruit trees, and berry bushes are breaking dormancy and need nutrients available exactly when their roots wake up and start actively feeding. Timing matters enormously in spring: apply nitrogen to fruit trees too late and you encourage soft growth vulnerable to late frosts and winter damage. Plant warm-season crops like tomatoes and peppers before soil temperatures stabilize above 60 degrees and they sit stunned and stunted for weeks, losing valuable growing time they cannot recover. The key to spring success is a systematic approach: test your soil first, amend based on results, prepare beds with the right Old Cobblers Farm fertility program, and plant each crop in its optimal window. This guide walks you through every step in order, from the first thaw to the last transplant, with specific product recommendations and application rates for each phase.
Step 1: Start With a Soil Test
Before you buy a single bag of fertilizer, send a soil sample to your state extension lab or a commercial testing service. A $15-25 test tells you exactly what your soil needs and what it already has enough of. This is the single highest-return investment you can make in your garden — it prevents you from wasting money on nutrients your soil does not need and identifies deficiencies that would otherwise limit your yields all season.
Many established gardens have excess phosphorus built up from years of compost, manure, and organic matter additions. In those situations, adding more phosphorus is wasteful and can contribute to waterway pollution. Wicked Growth 8-0-16 or 6-0-16 delivers nitrogen and potassium without adding unnecessary phosphorus — a responsible choice that saves money and protects the environment. New gardens carved from lawn or pasture typically need everything — Wicked Growth 10-10-10 or Wicked Organics 5-3-4 is a solid balanced starting point.
Collect samples from 8-10 spots in your garden at 4-6 inch depth, mix them together, and submit about 2 cups of the composite. If you have distinctly different areas — vegetable garden, blueberry patch, lawn — test each separately. Results typically come back in 1-3 weeks, so send samples in early March to have results before planting begins.
Step 2: Prepare Garden Beds
Once the ground has thawed and is dry enough to work without clumping into mud balls, it is time to prepare beds. Do not work soil that is too wet — squeezing a handful should form a ball that crumbles when poked, not one that holds its shape like modeling clay. Working wet soil destroys its structure and creates compacted clods that persist all season.
Spread 2-4 inches of finished compost over existing beds and work it into the top 6 inches with a fork or broadfork. This annual compost addition is the foundation of long-term soil health — it feeds soil biology, improves water retention in sandy soil, improves drainage in clay soil, and provides a slow baseline of nutrients.
Apply your base fertilizer based on soil test results. For organic programs, Wicked Organics 5-3-4 at 5 pounds per 100 square feet provides balanced slow-release nutrition that feeds for the first 6-8 weeks of the season. For conventional programs, Wicked Growth 10-10-10 at 2-3 pounds per 100 square feet delivers immediate balanced feeding. For soil structure improvement, mix in Wicked Organics Bio Char at 5-10% by volume — it creates permanent microbial habitat that makes every future fertilizer application more effective by reducing nutrient leaching and supporting the soil organisms that cycle nutrients to plant roots.
This is also the time to apply soil amendments that build long-term fertility. Wicked Organics Greensand at 5-10 pounds per 100 square feet adds potassium and 30+ trace minerals. Wicked Organics Kelp Meal at 1-2 pounds per 100 square feet provides growth hormones and micronutrients. Wicked Organics Rock Phosphate at 5-10 pounds per 100 square feet builds a multi-year phosphorus reserve in beds that tested low for P.
How To Store
The first lawn fertilization of the year should happen when grass is actively growing — not when it first turns green. In New England, that is typically late April to mid-May when soil temperatures consistently reach 55 degrees and you are mowing regularly. Fertilizing too early wastes product because grass roots are not yet actively absorbing nutrients, and it can stimulate crabgrass and other weeds that germinate before desirable grasses fill in.
Wicked Growth 16-10-13 at 6 pounds per 1,000 square feet provides a strong spring feeding with balanced nutrition — nitrogen for green-up, phosphorus for root recovery, and potassium for stress tolerance. For organic lawns, Wicked Organics 10-2-8 at 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet provides sustained nitrogen release without pushing the excessive flush of top growth that comes with fast-release synthetics. The slow release feeds consistently for 6-8 weeks, eliminating the boom-and-bust cycle of rapid greening followed by a growth crash.
If you need to acidify alkaline lawn soil, Wicked Growth Ammonium Sulfate (21-0-0) at 4.75 pounds per 1,000 square feet delivers nitrogen and pH correction simultaneously. The ammonium form acidifies soil through the nitrification process, gradually lowering pH over multiple applications.
For lawns that were overseeded in fall or early spring, wait until new grass has been mowed at least twice before applying granular fertilizer. Young seedlings with limited root systems are more sensitive to salt burn from granular products. Alternatively, dissolve Wicked Growth 19-19-19 at half-strength (half tablespoon per gallon) and water it on for a gentle liquid feeding that will not stress tender seedlings.
Step 3: Feed Your Lawn
Established perennial beds benefit from a topdressing of balanced organic fertilizer as new growth emerges in spring. Wicked Organics 4-6-4 provides the extra phosphorus that supports strong flowering later in the season — apply 3-5 pounds per 100 square feet around perennial crowns as shoots emerge, being careful not to pile fertilizer directly on the crown.
Roses get their first feeding now with Wicked Growth Rose Fertilizer (10-20-15) — the high phosphorus ratio drives prolific blooming. Apply 1-2 tablespoons per plant, scratched into the soil around the drip line and watered in. Repeat every 4-6 weeks throughout the blooming season.
Fruit trees receive their primary nitrogen application before bud break — timing varies by location, but in New England this is typically late March to mid-April. Use crop-specific formulas: Wicked Growth Apple Tree Fertilizer (8-0-16) for apples, Wicked Organics Fruit Tree Fertilizer (12-2-8) for organic orchards. Apply at the drip line where feeder roots are most active, not against the trunk. The zero-phosphorus apple formula is ideal for established trees in soils with adequate phosphorus — most orchard soils fall into this category.
Critical rule: never apply nitrogen to fruit trees after mid-June in northern climates. Late-season nitrogen stimulates soft, succulent new growth that cannot harden off before winter. This tender growth freezes, creating entry points for disease and potentially killing branches. Early spring is the only safe window for nitrogen on fruit trees.
Step 4: Wake Up Perennials and Trees
Cool-season crops go in the ground 4-6 weeks before the last frost date — in most of New England, that means mid-to-late April. Lettuce, spinach, peas, radishes, carrots, beets, turnips, kale, and brassica transplants (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower) all handle light frost and actually prefer cool conditions. Planting them early gives them weeks of productive growth before summer heat slows them down or triggers bolting.
At transplant time, add Wicked Organics 2-3-3 Seed Starter to the planting hole. This gentle formula encourages root establishment without burning tender seedlings. Its low nutrient concentration is deliberately designed for vulnerable young plants — stronger fertilizers can damage emerging root tips and set transplants back rather than helping them. For direct-seeded crops like peas, beans, carrots, and radishes, the base fertilizer worked into the bed during Step 2 is sufficient — additional fertilizer in the seed furrow can inhibit germination.
Step 6: Plant Warm-Season Crops After Last Frost
Warm-season crops — tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, melons, beans, and corn — wait until after the last frost date when soil is consistently above 60 degrees. In most of New England, that is late May to early June. Planting earlier rarely provides an advantage because these tropical-origin plants simply stop growing in cool soil — they sit, sulk, and are vulnerable to disease while they wait for conditions to improve.
Tomatoes and peppers benefit from Wicked Growth 5-10-10 at transplant time to drive root and bloom development. The higher phosphorus relative to nitrogen promotes root expansion and early flower set rather than excessive leafy growth. For tomatoes specifically, Wicked Growth Garden and Tomato Fertilizer (5-10-10) or Wicked Organics Garden and Tomato (5-3-4) provides crop-specific nutrition from day one. Plan for a mid-season side-dressing 4-6 weeks after transplanting when fruit begins setting — Wicked Growth Tomato Fertilizer (10-5-13) delivers the potassium boost that supports fruit sizing, flavor development, and even ripening.
Step 7: Specialty Crops Need Specialty Feeding
Blueberries breaking dormancy need Wicked Growth Blueberry Mix (10-10-10) or Wicked Organics Blueberry Fertilizer (4-6-4) — both acidify soil while feeding. Apply as buds begin to swell, not after flowering begins. The acidifying effect of these formulas maintains the pH 4.5-5.5 range that blueberries require.
Asparagus beds get Wicked Growth Asparagus Fertilizer (16-10-13) or Wicked Organics Asparagus (4-6-4) before spear emergence. Asparagus is one of the heaviest-feeding perennial vegetables and responds dramatically to proper spring nutrition. Apply broadcast across the entire bed and scratch in lightly — asparagus roots are shallow, so avoid deep cultivation.
Strawberries benefit from Wicked Growth Strawberry Fertilizer (10-5-13) as they begin active growth. The potassium emphasis supports fruit quality — sweetness, color, and firmness all improve with adequate K. Potatoes at planting get Wicked Growth Seed Potato Fertilizer (8-16-16) for the heavy phosphorus and potassium that tuber development demands. Work it into the trench at planting depth so nutrients are right where seed pieces will root.
Step 8: Establish a Feeding Schedule
Spring fertilization is the foundation, not the entire program. Set up a calendar now for the rest of the season. Heavy feeders like tomatoes, corn, peppers, and brassicas need a side-dressing of nitrogen 4-6 weeks after transplanting. Lawns need a second feeding in late spring or early summer. Container plants need Wicked Growth 19-19-19 dissolved in water every 1-2 weeks, or Wicked Organics 5-3-4 top-dressed every 4-6 weeks. Hanging baskets dry out and leach nutrients faster than ground-level containers — feed them with Wicked Growth Hanging Plant Fertilizer every 2-3 weeks.
Consistent, timely feeding separates good gardens from great ones. A garden that receives the right nutrients at the right time produces more food, prettier flowers, and healthier plants than one that gets a massive dump of fertilizer once and is forgotten. Mark your calendar, set phone reminders, and build the habit now while the season is young.